A New Face in Town
by Dying Reader
Summary: A woman is murdered and instead of going to heaven, she ends up in Halloween town as a ghost. Here she makes friends with Jack and Sally, but not all is well in Halloween town. Evil schemes are put under way, old enemies arise, and Rosalie just can't help to be drawn to one of her own kind, even if he's not all that he appears to be. OCxOC some JackxSally moments but not main focus
1. Chapter 1

Won't say much except hello and welcome to my second story. If you are coming here from The Last Skychild, I warmly welcome you with a plate of cookies for taking my advice. If you are new, you share the same love of this fandom as I do and present you the prologue. P.S. reviews will be rewarded with cookies, just sayin'.

Prologue: A Second Chance

A terrified scream is heard before a gunshot rings through the air, cutting through the scream itself. A young woman, about 18 or 19, falls to the ground, her wide terrified eyes unblinking. As blood starts to pool around her from the hole in her chest, she takes a shuddering final breath as a single tear falls down her cheek. It drops, mixing with the blood surrounding her as the life leaves her body. However, this is not the end for her. Oh no, fate has something better for her. As her ghost lifts from her body, she forgets everything about her past life. Everything except a name. Her name. Rosalie Van Wilde. The ghost, still unaware of the world around her, walks towards a light. As she reaches it she vanishes in a flash of light, leaving nothing but her body, a pool of blood, and a bullet. Upon her awakening, she finds herself in front of a signpost attached to a scarecrow that reads "Halloween Town". Curious and a little disoriented, she slowly walks down the path, unaware of her current state and of what awaits at the end of the road.


	2. Chapter 1- New Beginnings

Hey out there! Hows it going you guys? Well this would have come sooner but my basement flooded sooooo... yeah. I'm kinda depressed about this so I'll keep it short. Ariel Leilani- I'm really glad that you enjoy my story so far! Lifts my spirits and thanks for favouriting and following:) And thank you to Wolf Lover 06 for favouriting and following :) Cookies for both of you *waves magic cookie staff* And I'm sorry about the short chapter but I hoope you enjoy the next chapter of A New Face in Town.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Nightmare Before Christmas or any of the characters, except my OC's cause they belong to my fabulous mind :)**

Chapter One: New Beginnings

"What a mysterious place," I thought as I walked down the long, curving path beyond the arch. And it was curious indeed. For all along the path bare, twisted trees stood their resolute watch of the forest in the milky white dawn. And as if that wasn't enough, a seedling of fear started to grow in my belly at the thought of what creatures may be waiting in those trees. Feeling a growing urge to leave, I quickened my pace hoping that the forest would soon come to an end. I needn't have worried though, for after a few moments at my brisk pace the forest abruptly came to an end.

I looked around me, bewildered by the fact that the forest had ended so suddenly. Now that the trees were gone I could see that I was surrounded by pumpkins. _What a strange place to put a pumpkin patch, _I thought to myself as I carefully picked my way across. My goal: to reach the spiral-shaped hill on the other side. _Then again, everything that's happened to me so far has been strange. _As if to prove my point, I lost my balance, disturbing a pumpkin and causing a ghost to rise with a wail. Startled to say the least, I jumped back with a squeak only to disturb a group of pumpkins. The chorus of wails that was produced caused me to be more scared than ever. I hurriedly sprinted my way across the rest of the patch, not caring where I stepped. This caused more ghosts to appear before they evaporated in the sun like mist. _I hope they're okay, _I worried because even though they had scared me, I still did not wish any harm upon them. I turned around to see the hill behind me realizing that the spiral was facing away from me. _Oh dear! I seem to be on the wrong side, _I thought sadly as I rested my head against the curve of the hill. Upon contact, the spiral slowly started to unwind till it had formed a kind of bridge.

I hurried across it, hoping to find some people other than the ghosts to keep me company. Another unexpected sight awaited me on the other side of the hill though. For it seemed that I had stumbled upon a graveyard. _Oh my! First a pumpkin patch and now a graveyard? Well since all the ghosts are with the pumpkins, I suppose there should be none left for the graves. _And with that reasoning I sat down against a tombstone to catch my breath, for the first time looking down at myself. I was wearing a torn green dress with a pink sash around the middle. I also had no shoes on and my skin was deathly pale. _Why am I so white? Is it cold out? _I wondered to myself as I looked at a lock of my hair, for some reason feeling relieved that it was bright red. I leaned back relaxing, deciding that a little nap might be good for me. The falling sensation came over me as my eyelids started to droop, but before I could reach sleep I realized something. I was laying on the ground. Looked up to see the tombstone and followed it down to where it protruded from my midsection.

I screamed and bolted to my feet, only to see that my body had taken on a see-through quality. Fully panicking now, I turned around to see another woman picking something from a grave. Relief at finding another person clear on my face, I ran over to tap her on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but can you-" I stopped mid sentence as my hand went straight through her shoulder, causing the woman to shudder. _What is this?_ I thought to myself in shock, my body curling up on the ground and rocking back and forth. Shamelessly I started crying, burying my head against my knees. The woman turned around and looked at me with a gasp.

"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?!" She said rushing over and putting a hand on my now solid shoulder. "Oh, you don't look well at all! Come with me, come on. I'll get you all fixed up." She continued with a kind smile as she pulled me to my feet. Even though she was wearing a sewn together rag dress and had numerous stitches all over her body, I felt safe as she lead me past the gate and out of the graveyard.

_Hmmmm... I wonder what could happen next? Anyways, hope you liked it and I'll try to update faster. __Dying Reader lowering herself back into her coffin till next time. So long!_


	3. Chapter 2: Welcome to Halloween Town

Hello everyone! And Happy Thanksgiving to you Canadians out there! Wooohooo! :P Not much to say except... SORRY FOR TAKING SOOO LONG! School is really crappy right now and I'm playing an MMO that I may or may not be addicted to... So onto the reviews! There was only one... :( But one was better than none! (I'm a little crazy at the moment, please bear with me -.-) Ariel Leilani- I'm glad you can see it actually playing out! It makes me soooo happy and I hope this chapter is good :P Here's your cookie *hands cookie* And I can't remember if anyone fav'd or followed, so if you did please take a cookie off this plate, but beware! The cookies know the truth... so no liars! And for the rest of you please enjoy my Thanksgiving update of A New Face in Town.

******Disclaimer: I do not own Nightmare Before Christmas or any of the characters, except my OC's cause they belong to my fabulous mind :)**

Chapter 2: Welcome to Halloween Town

"Just come along, this way," the woman said pulling me along the cobblestone walk. The town we had walked straight into was giving me a strange feeling. Not that I was feeling strange, mind you, but the town itself just gave off a strange feeling. It wasn't the buildings, they were perfectly normal brown and grey brick buildings. Even the perpetual grey colour of the sky didn't bother me much. _What is it?_ Nothing seemed out of the ordinary so why was I assaulted by this strange feeling? "Look out!" The woman shouted, shoving me to the ground as we both fell. "A cackling noise filled the air.

"Hey! watch where your walking!" The witch screeched at us as from her broom she continued to fly down the path at breakneck speed. _Dear me! was that really..._

"Was that really a witch I just saw?" I asked the woman a little timidly, brushing myself off and looking towards her. However I stopped my actions when I saw her. She was sitting there on the ground with her left arm beside her and her right hand on her lap, except that they weren't attached to her body.

"Oh dear, not again. Those witches should really watch where they're flying, they're going to hurt somebody one of these days... " she mumbled to herself as her hand traveled to her pocket, taking out a needle and thread. "I never did ask your name, did I? I'm Sally, I would shake your hand, but as you can see they're a bit busy at the moment." Sally said with a faint smile as her right hand tried and failed to put the thread through the eye of the needle. "Darn it. I'm really in an fix this time, and Jack will be busy with preparations for the party..." she said, worrying her bottom lip as she watched her hand try again.

"Here, let me help," I say grabbing the needle and thread from her hand, deftly threading the needle and getting to work on her right hand. "My name is Rosalie, by the way. Rosalie Van Wilde." I finish stitching her hand to her arm and start on the other arm, holding it in place with one hand and stitching with the other.

"My! That's a lovely name! You're actually quite good at stitching, have you ever sewn before?" Sally asks curiously, surprised by my skill. And she's not the only one who's surprised. I have no clue where this talent came from, but the needle and thread in my hands just feels... right. I shake my head at her and she seems even more surprised, but as I finish the last stitch on her arm a slow smile stretches across her face. "Rosalie there's someone I'd like you to meet, someone very dear to me..." she says with a dreamy look in her eyes before she snaps back, taking my hand again and starting to lead me down the path. I resist, making her turn back to face me a confused look clearly evident on her face. "What is it Rosalie?" She asks before I let go of her hand and clasp them together in front of me.

"Well to begin with I don't even know where I am or what I am. I mean, back in the graveyard my hand went straight through your shoulder and you couldn't even hear me! I don't know how that even happened!" I exclaim, starting to panic a little. "And I just saw a witch! A witch! I don't know why but that just feels wrong to me, like it shouldn't even exist in the first place!" I burst instantly slapping my hand to my mouth as Sally gasps. _What am I even saying!_ "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I'm just so confused about everything..." I trail off in a soft voice that is laced with despair.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and look up to meet Sally's kind eyes. "Sounds to me like you could use some answers." I nod as she continues. "And that person I was talking about before, well he just might be able to give you some." My eyes shine with hope at that statement before she gently takes my hand and pulls me back in the direction we were going. "Although if you thought the witch was strange then I should warn you, the rest of the town won't be much better. You'll get used to it though if you're going to stay here." My mind starts at that remark. _Me? Stay here? That thought has never occurred to me before. Well it depends on a number of things but I might just consider it._

As I was pondering the possibility, we reach the town square which is in a flurry of activity. And boy, wasn't Sally right. There were creatures of every shape and size everywhere. And the things they were doing! A tree with hung skeletons on it's branches was hanging spider webs like streamers on buildings. A short little devil and a werewolf were busily setting up a guillotine, bickering non-stop on the position. A large man with an axe in his head was carrying pumpkins in a large wheelbarrow to a table where a... thing, with snakes for hair was artistically carving them with horrific faces. Witches were zooming around on their brooms hanging shrunken heads and lanterns on every available spot. Overall it was a very terrifying scene. I whimpered and drew a little closer to Sally, unsure of what these monsters would do to me. That's when my hand slipped through her grasp, leaving me alone in a square full of terrifying creatures.

She looked around startled at the absence of my hand. That's when I realized it had happened again. "Sally! I'm over here!" I yelled as loud as I could but to no avail as she moved off in the opposite direction calling my name. Panic started to rise up in me again I darted through the crowd, sometimes literally, in order to catch up with her but I was lost in a matter of seconds. No one could hear me, no one could see me and I had no clue how to change back. As I felt tears starting to well up in my eyes, I felt like I was being watched. I turned around to see a boy, although I don't think boy would be the right word. He looked about eighteen or nineteen and looked normal compared to the monsters in the square. _Just like me..._ He had white hair and piercing ultramarine blue eyes with pale skin exactly like mine and he was just leaning against a fence, watching me with a look of curiosity on his face. I took a step towards him and he stood and started to walk off. "Wait!" I called desperately as I followed him as he disappeared beyond the gate. When I got there however, he was no where to be seen and only the busy square was visible.

_Who was that? And how could he see me? And how did he know I was lost? _As I stood there wondering about all these things, I heard my name being called and saw Sally run towards me. I looked at my hand and saw that the translucent quality of it had disappeared. _ Hmmm... interesting..._ I thought before I was tackled by a running and distraught Sally. "Oh Rosalie! Where did you go! I was looking for you everywhere and I just couldn't imagine you on your own especially with the way you were before. But you just disappeared!" Sally went on hugging me like we've been friends forever. _Jeez, she must make friends really fast. Or maybe she sees me as a lost little lamb._ I couldn't really blame her though so I just hugged her back, grateful not to be passing through her.

"Well, it seems to me like you've found your friend Sally," I heard a masculine voice say behind me. I break the hug and whip around feeling my stomach hit my feet. In front of me had to be the tallest creature I had seen yet. First off, he was a skeleton. You heard me right, a skeleton. Not only that but a smartly dressed one in his black and white pinstripe suit with a black bat bowtie. To say my knees had turned to jelly would be an understatement. He wore a smile on his face that would be considered friendly had not it stretched halfway around his head. I squeaked and quickly hid behind Sally causing the skeleton to chuckle. "I'm sorry I startled you, here let me introduce myself. My name is Jack, Jack Skellington." He said with a bow offering his hand for me to shake. I tentatively came a little bit out from behind Sally to shake his hand. Cold and bony. Well it was better than hot and clammy. He stood up and addressed me further. "Sally said your new in town, which I have to admit is quite surprising considering I knew nothing about it." _A bit pretentious, isn't he? _I thought to myself as he continued speaking. "But putting that aside, she also said that you had some questions you'd like answers to. I believe I may be able to answer them for you if you don't mind having a little bit of a chat with us."

I nodded, still not trusting my voice to speak as we started off towards what I assume was Jack's house on the other side of the courtyard. But before we could get too far, a short, stout man with a too tall top hat in my opinion came up looking rather distraught. His face was painted white and looked a lot like a mask, which I have to admit, did creep me out a little. "Jack! It's terrible, simply terrible! The Harlequin and the Werewolf started fighting in the square and now all chaos has broken loose. Normally I like chaos, but when it interferes with the Halloween plans it simply won't do. Especially with Halloween only two days away!" he cried frantically waving his hands in the air, almost losing his balance and causing a small giggle to pass through my lips.

"Sorry Sally, Rosalie, but this requires immediate attention. Will it be okay if I answer your questions tonight?" Apologized Jack, worriedly looking over his shoulder towards the square.

"Of course it's all right Jack, I'll take Rosalie with me to help with the after-party preparations." Sally said quickly before I could voice my discontent. _Well, I guess it is for the best. Besides, I wouldn't want to have angry monsters fighting anyways. They're scary enough as it is. _I nodded in agreement as a look of relief came over Jack's face.

"Thank you Sally. Just go home for now though, it might be a little dangerous in the square for a while... After it calms down though feel free to go help." He said leaning down to peck a kiss on Sally's cheek causing her to blush. "I worry about you, you know," he whispered quietly enough so he thought only Sally could hear. "Okay Mayor, let's go get this mess under control." Jack said sprinting off, his long strides quickly leaving the waddling Mayor behind.

"So..." I said as we turned around and headed the rest of the way towards Jack's house. "What's it like to be kissed by a skeleton?" I asked, surprised by my own forwardness and causing Sally to blush a deeper shade of crimson as we entered the house.

_Sorry about that last part, but I always wanted to ask her that... Anywho, next chapter will be the preparations and maybe the after party. I gotz lots of ideas for that :) ____Dying Reader lowering herself back into her coffin till next time. So long!_


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